ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: The Higher Education Commission has asked the Hazara University in Mansehra to strengthen its faculty of various departments to the required level of PhD programme, Dawn learnt on Friday.

A review committee of the commission, headed by Dr Khalid Mahmood Khan, Vice-Chancellor, University of Arid Agriculture (UAA) Rawalpindi, visited the Hazara University in August to evaluate and assess the quality of its departments which are offering MPhil and PhD programmes, qualifications of faculty, laboratories and the procedures of admission, course conduct and examinations.

The main purpose of the committee is to maintain high standards of education and research, and to help the universities run MPhil/PhD programmes.

In a set of recommendations, the committee asked the university to upgrade its labs to the required standards for PhD research. The university had already held in abeyance the PhD admissions. The committee recommended to convert these admissions into MPhil programme for which new rules and regulations have to be framed.

For a strong PhD programme, the library seems to be insufficient and needs to be strengthened on priority basis, the committee recommended.

It asked the university to separate administrative positions in academics and PhD supervisors need to enhance their research publications.

The committee was also of the view that departments of biochemistry, botany, microbiology and genetics should be treated as separate entities.

In its separate findings, the committee noted that there was shortage of space for setting up labs and stressed the need for more space for labs and classrooms as the strength of the students was increasing with every passing day.

The committee observed that the university was already in 8th year of its existence and has all the necessary administrative infrastructure but needs to build the academic infrastructure.

It also observed that the PhD programme was started in various disciplines with minimum number of PhD faculty. In the prospectus, the departments of Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology and Genetics have been shown as separate entities, while for PhD programme all these are combined into one as Biological Sciences.

The university has already stopped admissions to PhD in spring for want of clarification from the HEC about admission criteria.